A Leicester creative agency has planned a sleep out in support of a youth homelessness charity.
Creative agency Rock Kitchen Harris (RKH) is supporting youth homelessness charity The Y this September.
The RKH team will be swapping their beds for a night under the stars this Friday (September 11).
The Y provides safe accommodation and offers training and support to help young people move towards independent living and employment.
The charity’s building is also home to Leicester’s oldest theatre, and under normal circumstances hosts a year-long programme of events that brings the arts to a wide and diverse audience.
RKH staff chose to support The Y as their 2020 charity of the year, and as part of their fundraising work the team is now preparing to spend a night sleeping outside on Friday 11th September. Staff will sleep in their gardens in order to respect Leicester’s current restrictions and maintain social distancing.
Ian Moore, Director at Rock Kitchen Harris, said: “The Y is critical to the city and the team were delighted to support the charity this year. The impact of coronavirus has made their funding and the services provided more important than ever.
“We had hoped to hold a more public sleep out to help raise money for and awareness of the charity, but instead our team will be spending the night in their gardens or, if they don’t have any outdoor space, on their living room floors.
“During the sleep out we’ll be hearing from representatives at The Y via video calls, watching and discussing documentaries about youth homlessness, and sharing our experiences on social media. We hope that we will raise plenty of money for The Y and get more of an insight into the struggles that young homeless people face.”
Paul Brown, CEO of The Y, said: “We were delighted to be chosen as charity of the year by Rock Kitchen Harris. Our young people have faced uncertainty and increased isolation which has had an impact on their mental health.
"We’ve been working very hard to develop new creative activities and step up support in response to this. Fundraising from this event will provide specialist coaching to help our young people develop their skills, rebuild their confidence and achieve work readiness or education placements.
“We’re determined to come back stronger for our young people and all fundraising brings us a step closer. Support from organisations like RKH is vital for local charities like us and makes a huge difference to our amazing community.”
To sponsor the RKH Big Sleep Out, visit the Just Giving page.
